Pre-Conferene Training

Pre-Conference Training

CBT and Motivational Enhancement Techniques to Help Clients De-Clutter their Lives

Hoarding is the acquisition and failure to discard a large number of possessions that appear to be useless or of limited value in attempt to postpone or decrease distress or anxiety. Hoarding disorder is a significant problem for 4-5% of the population who often face significant health and safety risks, including the risk of homelessness.

In this one-day training, Dr. Michael A. Tompkins will cover the basics of two major topics important to anyone working directly with clients dealing with hoarding challenges: cognitive behavioral therapy and motivational enhancement.

The first half of the day will present an overview of hoarding disorder and cognitive-behavioral therapy for hoarding disorder, the psychological treatment of choice for the condition. Attendees will learn strategies to assist clients to sort, organize, and make decisions regarding their possessions and to change thoughts and beliefs that maintain hoarding behaviors.

In the second half of the day, Dr. Tompkins will present an overview of motivational enhancement strategies to engage people who hoard in treatment of their condition. Low motivation and the refusal for clients to accept help is one of the most frustrating and demoralizing features of hoarding disorder to clinicians. Attendees will learn the role of low insight in hoarding disorder and several strategies to build and maintain the motivation of clients who are in treatment for their condition. The workshop will include didactic and videos, as well as exercises as time allows.

Course Presenter

Michael A. Tompkins, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist (PSY 13822) and co-director of the San Francisco Bay Area Center for Cognitive Therapy where he specializes in the treatment of anxiety disorders and obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders in adults, adolescents, and children. Dr. Tompkins is Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, Diplomate and Certified Trainer of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy, and a consultant and trainer for the Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy. He is the author or co-author of numerous articles and chapters on cognitive-behavior therapy and related topics, as well as seven books, including Digging Out: Helping Your Loved One Manage Clutter, Hoarding, and Compulsive Acquiring (with Tamara L. Hartl) (New Harbinger, 2009) and the Clinician’s Guide to Severe Hoarding: A Harm Reduction Approach (Springer, 2015), a book for clinicians who work with people with severe hoarding behavior. Dr. Tompkins has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and on television (The Learning Channel, Arts & Entertainment, Lifetime) and radio (KQED, NPR) and has presented widely on cognitive-behavior therapy, hoarding, and related topics.